Krill oil is one of the fastest growing nutraceutical products. Krill oil may be extracted from any species of krill, but is most generally extracted from the Antarctic krill Euphausia superba. Krill oil provides a bioavailable source of omega-3 fatty acids such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) as well as the antioxidant astaxanthin. Krill oil is generally characterized as containing substantial amounts of phospholipids as well as triglycerides.
WO2008/117062 describes extraction of krill oil from krill meal using polar solvents and extractions processes such as supercritical fluid extraction. One problem with krill oil extracted from krill meal is that the oil generally has a high viscosity which makes formulation into preferred delivery forms such as gel capsules difficult. The cause of the high viscosity has not been previously described.
WO2009/027692 and WO2010/097701 describe processes for making a krill protein-lipid coagulate and extraction of an oil from the coagulate. The resulting oils can have a low viscosity. However, the coagulate can be difficult to store and ship due to a high moisture content.
Little work has been done to discover processes for extracting low viscosity krill oil from the more readily available krill meal. Thus, what is need in the art are processes for extracting a low viscosity krill oil from krill meal and the low viscosity krill oils resulting from those processes.